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Reduce Lyme disease: Keep deer out of yard

Recent reports that Lyme disease -- transmitted by ticks that live on deer -- is even more prevalent than health officials once thought. Keeping deer away from your back yard could directly affect your family’s health, according to a press release from Green Earth Media group, since deer ticks carry the disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently estimated about 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed each year. Only about 30,000 of those actually get reported to the CDC. Lyme disease is now the most common tick-borne illness, according to the CDC.

Year-round, especially during fall and winter, you should check your own body, children, and pets for ticks. Deer ticks are often so small you won’t even feel their bite, so visual inspection is important. If you suspect you’ve been bitten, talk to your doctor right away.

The CDC says that reducing your exposure to ticks is the best defense against contracting Lyme disease. Keeping deer away from your back yard can help reduce your chances of encountering ticks in your home environment.

Look for a proven effective, natural deterrent that has been independently tested, like Bobbex Deer Repellent. The other alternative is a physical barrier (fence). The topical foliar spray uses taste and smell aversion ingredients to deter deer from browsing and causing other damage to ornamental plantings, shrubs, and trees. Safe for use on even the most sensitive plantings, as well as around children and pets, Bobbex works in any climate and will not wash off after heavy rain.

Even though many plants, bushes, and trees will lose their leaves during fall and winter, it’s important to continue applying deer repellents year-round. Remember, deer forage aggressively when food becomes scarce. Fall and winter are the times when they’re most likely to enter your yard -- bringing their disease-carrying cargo with them while ravaging your foliage, trees, and shrubs.